Fabio Jakobsen wins stage 1 of Volta ao Algarve in dominant Quick-Step performance

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team are experts at putting on a good leadout and they delivered a win easily today by doing it again. The opening stage of the Volta ao Algarve was flat but very dangerous as the wind and crashes split the peloton quite a lot, Fabio Jakobsen took a dominant sprint win and is the first leader of the race.

The breakaway today was formed by João Matias (Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados), Hugo Nunes (Rádio Popular - Paredes - Boavista), Fabio Oliveira (ABTF - Feirense) and Asier Etxeberria (Euskaltel - Euskadi). They've made for a maximum lead of three minutes as the peloton rode behind quickly due to the tension posed by the wind.

With 40 and 11 kilometers to go there were two mass crashes. These split the peloton into around half it's size. The breakaway was caught with 35 kilometers to go and the pace was consistently high, with some moves coming mainly stimulated by Nils Politt.

Quick-Step pushed the pace incredibly high in the final two kilometers as Remco Evenepoel hit the front in a slight uphill section, coming downhill into the sprint in the roundabouts the peloton cracked behind the Belgian team's leadout, they delivered Fabio Jakobsen to the line perfectly and the Dutchman easily took his third win of the season.

Jordi Meeus took second place in a complicated sprint as Kristoff had to stop pedalling, Bryan Coquard took third spot.